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Written by Kim Petersen
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Monday, 24 August 2009 |
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Drug use is demonized, and the “evil” of drugs is propagandized in
the corporate media. This helps to sustain the long-running, selective
“drug war” in the United States and elsewhere.
One logical and ethical solution to the prodigious resources devoted
to the “drug war” is the recognition of each person’s sovereignty over
his own body. Consumption of drugs and whatever else is the decision of
adult individuals in reasonable command of their mental faculties.
Society (as it is presently constituted, the state) should monopolize
drug sales. The state will save money fighting illegal drug sales and
assure that unadulterated, untainted drugs are sold. The drugs can be
sold with necessary information and warnings (ideally factually
accurate information — neither disinformation nor propaganda) about the
drugs, so that the individual is fully informed of the potentialities
from drug consumption.
Others, however, choose to live by different principles or rules. In
most societies, the ruling class arrogates the right to decide what is
best for others and enforce this decision. This is the case in the US
for drug use – even for the comparatively harmless marijuana plant.
Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason Tvert approached the right to
use marijuana from a different tangent. They argue, in the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?, that because it is far safer than alcohol, marijuana for personal use should be legalized.
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Written by Salem-News.com
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Friday, 21 August 2009 |
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The study suggests that not only is marijuana safer
than alcohol, it may actually protect against some of the damage that
booze causes. A study just published online by the journal
Neurotoxicology and Teratology suggests that marijuana may protect the
brain from some of the damage caused by binge drinking.
The study, by researchers at the University of
California San Diego, used a type of high-tech scan called diffusion
tensor imaging to compare microscopic changes in brain white matter. |
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Written by Peter Marcus
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Friday, 21 August 2009 |
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A hero to potheads across the nation, local marijuana advocate Mason Tvert continues his smokin’ streak with Amazon.com best-selling book “Marijuana is Safer.”
His first book aims to convince supporters and opponents alike that marijuana is a safer recreational alternative to other substances like alcohol.
"Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?” is co-written by fellow pot experts Paul Armentano, deputy director of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and Steve Fox, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project. |
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Written by Phil Smith
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Friday, 21 August 2009 |
In
the past few years, Colorado-based activist Mason Tvert has taken the
notion of comparing marijuana to alcohol and used it to great success,
first in organizing college students around equalizing campus penalties
for marijuana and underage drinking infractions (marijuana offenses are
typically punished more severely), then in running a successful
legalization initiative in Denver in 2005. Tvert and his organization,
SAFER (Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation), continue to hammer
away at marijuana prohibition, and now, in collaboration with NORML
analyst Paul Armentano and MPP director for state campaigns Steve Fox,
he has taken his "marijuana is safer" campaign to a new level -- and,
hopefully, to a new and broader audience.
Having known (and repeatedly interviewed) all three coauthors in the
course of my duties for the Drug War Chronicle, I assumed "Marijuana Is
Safer" would be a good book. I was mistaken. It's a great book, and an
extremely useful one. "Marijuana Is Safer" starts out hitting on all
eight cylinders with a foreword from former Seattle police chief Norm
Stamper and never lets up. It hits its points concisely and engagingly,
it is thoroughly researched, and its political arguments are carefully
thought out. |
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Written by Joel Warner
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Friday, 21 August 2009 |
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Mason Tvert, executive director of SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation),
which ran a successful 2005 campaign to legalize possession of up to
one ounce of marijuana in Denver, has long been the merry prankster of
Colorado weed activists -- a prankster who knows how to have serious
impact. When photos surfaced of Governor Bill Ritter's son hitting the
booze at a governor's mansion party, Tvert and his posse threw a
media-grabbing kegger on the mansion lawn to prove the point that the
encouragement of alcohol but not pot was a total party foul. He was
also responsible for arguably the most successful billboard that never
actually existed: In 2005, as part of the Denver pot legalization
campaign, SAFER proposed a billboard celebrating Miami Dolphins running
back Ricky Williams, who'd been suspended for marijuana use. The
billboard attracted national attention -- even though Tvert never
actually put it up. |
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Written by Erin Covey
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Monday, 17 August 2009 |
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Thousands of people turned out over the weekend for
Seattle's two-day marijuana festival known as Hempfest.
Each year, organizers use clothing and speeches to promote
their efforts to get pot legalized, and more families and
"mainstream" supporters joined them this time. And this
year, organizers have more reason to believe there will soon
be a change in marijuana policy.
Supporters, like Hempfest organizer Mason Tvert, have long
argued that those under the influence of marijuana are in a
much different state than those who use alcohol. "There's no
reason why we shouldn't be treating it like alcohol and
generating revenue and saving in the criminal justice
system."
As cash strapped states deal with the recession and look for
things to tax, Tvert is glad the discussion is being held.
"The mere fact that we're having the discussion about
generating revenue based on marijuana regulation, taxation.
Just goes to show how relatively safe the substance is."
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